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Obsolete/Crossovers
''Moderator's Note: We appreciate that folks have come together to design a set of rules and guidelines as to how the Nobility should interact with the greater Chronicles of Darkness at large. However, part of the community at large has some concerns with additional content that has been added beyond the supervision of past and current developers of the game, especially when looked at from the eyes of outside parties whose additions on this wiki have not been included in the Princess: the Hopeful books, or may not have been agreed upon by the standing developers. In order to ensure adherence to their vision, this page has been locked to the public at this time, pending revision. THESE ARE NOT OFFICIAL/CANON GUIDELINES AND SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS SUCH.'' -Masaru93 (talk) 22:28, February 5, 2018 (UTC) General Crossover Broadly speaking, it should be noted that the Enlightened are a Major Template, with Inner Light as their supernatural advantage. As a result, all the normal rules for resistances and the fact that templates cannot stack apply. Vampires The Kindred, as a species, are as aware of the Enlightened as they are of any other of the inhabitants of the Chronicles of Darkness, which is to say, not very. On the other hand, certain Vampires, especially those among the Ordo Dracul, the Circle of the Crone, and, peculiarly, the Carthian Movement know a lot more than the Nobility might wish them to. Spontaneous Blossomings still occurred before the Release, after all, which leaves the long-lived Kindred in a position to have personally encountered Princesses at a time when they were an extreme rarity. Of course, knowing the tendencies of the Enlightened for punitive justice, as well as the fact that, pre-Release, only Storms and Tears had a presence in the real world, that might just mean that there are a few elder vampires who might be bearing a grudge from Herds destroyed and plans ruined. One thing that makes Nobles particular troublesome for vampires is Dual Identity. Vampires are known to rely a lot on their influence on human society to protect themselves, and this usually is their best weapon; if a Hunter starts getting troublesome, they can easily figure out his adress and relatives through some investigation and descriptions from witnesses, then proceed to break his life apart so he will be easier to deal with. But a Princess' Transformed state usually has no legal identity, her mundane form is undistinguishable from a regular human, and it's nearly impossible to figure out the connection between the two. Nobles can easily show up to destroy a vampire operation, then retreat to hide and turn back to mundane form, allowing them to go on with their life among humans while Kindred struggle to figure where these weird girls in strange costume came from. As a major template, the Enlightened may not be Ghouled or Embraced, and do not suffer the Viniculum, although they may become addicted to Vitae. The blood of the Nobles, though, has different effects, depending on whether it comes from them when Transformed, or unTransformed. When drunk from an unTransformed Princess, the Kindred, sadly, only becomes more concealed among the human herd; each point of Princess blood in the Vampire's system increases their effective Humanity rating for the purposes of appearance and their dicepool when interacting with mortals. There is something in the blood, though, that shrieks warning to the Enlightened; each point of Princess-derived Vitae decreases their effective Humanity for the purposes of appearance for those with an Inner Light stat by one. This produces the peculiar circumstance that, while the Vampire appears more human to mortals, they appear more corpse-like and monstrous to the Enlightened; something that can produce paranoia among those Princesses who find themselves the only one who can see the self-evident monster in their midst. A drink from a Transformed Princess, on the other hand, introduces a strange mutual weakness in both parties, as the tendency for the Nobility to make bonds and connections interacts with the unleashed power of the Transformation in unexpected ways. For as long as the Princess-derived Vitae remains in the Vampire's system, both parties suffer a -1 to all Resisted and Contested rolls against the other individual. Some scholars of the Dracul believe it is somehow related to the Viniculum, although that does not explain why it works against individuals with a level-3 bond to another, while there are those among the Nobility who suspect that the Transformed blood introduces some kind of sympathy, making them, in a small sense, the same person. Either way, the mechanism is unknown, but the effects have been anywhere from making it easier to persuade a predator to let a captive go, to creating strange, co-dependent relationships; each party pliable to the other. The Embassy to Lilith specializes in relationships with Vampires. Werewolves Both the Enlightened and the Uratha can change and transform, it is true. However, what studies there have been have found no connections between the two. The 5 forms of the Uratha, in a sense, exist in potentia in their aura, and are all the same being; a gift of their insane, mutable ultimate mother. By contrast, the Princess and her Transformed self are metaphysically and literally different people; two selves, drawn from the Inner Light. The fact that the Enlightened have almost no talent for interactions with the spirit world, with the exception of one rare Embassy, is enough, in the minds of both parties, to refute that the two have a connection. Interactions between the two tend towards wary, almost hostility on the part of Princesses, and apathy (until they affect their territory in a negative way) on the part of the Uratha. The inhuman mindset that lets the children of Father Wolf kill with ease tends to produce conflict with the Nobility, who tend not to look fondly on the murder of a too-inquisitive journalist and the dumping of his mauled body in the Shadow; for their part, the Uratha are often forced into action, when the deeds of the Enlightened disrupt the careful ecology of the Shadow. Most of the time, any peace that forms is wary, split by mutual incomprehension, although it can warm with the mutual goal of keeping possessing entities out of the material, and the eradication of Tainted areas, which too often coincide with Wounds. Mechanically, for the purposes of tracking, the bonus the Uratha receive only applies to the form that the blood was taken from; blood from a Transformed Princess does not grant a +4 to track her unTransformed self. Likewise, the Enlightened do not suffer from Lunacy, although they are still free to feel terrified when facing an enraged wolfman. A werewolf in all of its shapes is still a sapient, conscious mind, and so counts as a human, rather than an animal, for the purposes of powers that distinguish between the two. The Ephemeral Ministry specialises in interactions with the spirit world, and its various denizens, including the Uratha. Spirits As has been already mentioned, the Enlightened know very little about the hisil. As a result, they will tend to interpret spiritual influence though their own personal beliefs, whether of demons, Darkness beings, or animism. Although they have several powers that can be used to get rid of such beings, whether they are possessing humans or anchored to a location, they are considerably worse at interacting with them, not least because of the fact that the First Tongue is the only way that many spirits communicate, and is apparently unrelated to the Royal Tongue. There exist spirits linked to concepts such as Hope, Happiness, and Light which will act in a more friendly manner to them, but they remain fundamentally spirits, interested in furthering their own domain, and there is no evidence that the reason they help the Princesses is anything more than that (and a Noble will typically be more wary after they have found the cult of junkies that the Happiness spirit keeps high, the Urged drug dealer giving away his product for almost free, just for the high). Of particular note are the Goalenu. These are a spirit-ghost hybrid (although of a different kind to the Geister), and perhaps the most common spiritual foe that the Nobility will face (or be aided by, if they are followers of the Queen of Storms). As an unnatural merger of ghost and spirit, and frequently magath who will devour any passing spirit for power on top of that, they are persona non gratis in much of the Shadow, though the fact that they can (and do) eat any Lesser Gaffling one-on-one leaves them safe most of the time. Nevertheless, they spend as much time in the Material, anchored in Twilight or in a Vessel, as they can, both to further their mission, but also because, as discorporation shreds them back to a Tattered Ghost, they are innately more vulnerable than a normal spirit. As a Major Template, Princesses may not be Claimed, although they may still be Urged (see Predators for more details). Mages The Awakened and the Enlightened are so very, very close in some ways (consider the etymology of the word "Magical"), and yet, in others, they are complete strangers. Like Mages, Princesses are human in a way that Vampires and Werewolves are not. Like Mages, they claim descent from a prehistoric city that fell, and, (as they both claim), left the world lesser for its passing. Like Mages, they claim that when they achieve their aims, everything will be better. It's the details which cause the problems. The difference is almost fundamentally one of temperament. Where the Awakened know, the Enlightened believe. One intellectualises, one emotes. Where one has hubris, the other has self-righteousness. One is subtle and treacherous, the other is overt and blatant. That is not to say that they cannot get on; quite the opposite. Broadly, they have probably the least barriers to interaction (neither party is a blood-sucking monster that feeds off the living, for one), and often compatible goals. The sheer similarity between the Hieraconis and the dreams of a rebuilt Kingdom are remarkable to those not involved in either goal, and the mantra of the Free Council, “Destroy the Followers of the Lie” leads to actions against the Alhambrans that the Radiant cannot but approve of. And there are even those periodic incidents where the friend of a Mage undergoes a Blossoming, or vice versa, and there is a great deal of confusion on all sides. But there is always a slight edge to interactions, especially when the Alhambrans, Seers, Banishers or followers of Storms, are raising tension for all parties. There is a theory which has growing support among both academics of the Mysterium and the autocrats of the Seers of the Throne, and that is that the Kingdom was another, pre-Fall, rival civilisation to the Awakened City. While Atlantis looked up to the heavens, and reached out to seize the universe, the Kingdom turned inwards, and exalted in its purity, for it, unlike the Awakened City, was faithful to one of the Old Gods. And so, when the cosmos broke, and the newly enthroned Exarchs cast out the Old Gods, harrowing and slaying them, the Kingdom crumbled, too. The souls of its servants were chained to the Omphalous, that barrier which had been established to keep the Old Gods out of the mortal world, just as Prometheus was chained. Of course, those Princesses who know of this hypothesis point out the numerous ways this disagrees with their own accounts, and accuse the Mages of typical hubris, the Mages retort that they're only upset because they lost, and generally, everything goes downhill from the point when the first magical blasts are thrown. As a Major Template, the Nobility count as Sleepwalkers, as do the Sworn, although Beacons are still Asleep, and so still cause Paradox. The most striking feature, from a Mage's point of view, is that the Transformed and Untransformed versions of a Princess appear to be completely different people, from the point of view of Resonance and Sympathy. They do not carry the Resonance across; a Transformed Princess may burn down a Dark-Tainted house, but the Fiery resonance from the deed is not carried across. On the other hand, they will tend to accumulate similar Resonances, from the same personality, and the fact that, unless they are careful, they will spend time around the same places in both forms; this can be a clue to the connection. Sympathetically, the spell automatically fails if the Princess is not in the form that the Mage has Sympathy to; a successful Wits + Occult roll can allow the Mage to realise it is because, for the point of view of the magic, the person they are trying to target does not exist. Some Enlightened powers function via Sympathy. These powers create a sympathetic connection, in the same way that Awakened powers do, and so can be used to channel spells back in the same manner. Likewise, Occultation functions as a defence against Enlightened powers, and so do Space-based Wards. As per Tome of the Mysteries, Awakened magic may not prevent a Princess from being physically able to Transform, though it may mentally prevent her (so, for example, it may not directly counter the Transformation, though it may mind-control her to not want to Transform). Charms Invoked with an elementally-linked Invocation count as being of that element from the point of view of Awakened magic; if a fire-proof shield is created using the Forces Practice of Shielding, it defends against a Fuego fireball, just as a specialist Death spell can provide extra protection above and beyond normal Mage Armour against the shadowy void of Lacrima. There appears to be some connection between the Darkness and the Abyss, at least insofar as they are shadowy darknesses hidden within the human heart and soul. Creatures of the Darkness which used to be Sleepers (such as the Endarkened, or the Darkspawn they become), still count as Sleepers from the point of view of Awakened magic. Notably, this counts for both positive and negative ways; they induce Paradox (though only for Vulgar spells; they cannot upgrade a Covert spell to Vulgar even if it becomes unbelievable) as a Sleeper, but they are also susceptible to things which affect Sleepers worse than normal. Notably, Death 3 can remove their souls, and if it is done to a Darkspawn or Mnemosyne, the physical body dies instantly. This remains a Wisdom sin, and if the soul is transplanted to a soulless individual, they become an Endarkened as soon as their Morality returns to its previous level. Nevertheless, Tremere have been known to use them as a source of souls which will not be missed (not least because it is easier to justify it to themselves; +1 to the Wisdom check). The Ministry of the Arcane handles interactions with the Awakened, and other, lesser, human magic users. Prometheans While the Enlightened may superficially resemble Mages, it is the strange hints of a connection between the Inner Light, and the Divine Fire, which intrigue those Noble researchers who have heard of it more. They are, after all, both inner, concealed lights of brilliance, growth and change tied to humanity (as opposed to any of the other things in the Chronicles of Darkness). Many of the enlightened who know of the Pilgrimage and its miraculous end results consider it to be of paramount importance. Though if pressed most admit it's all speculation and guesswork. Then there is the disguise that conceals the disfigurements of the patchwork corpses, which seems to many to be much like a weaker version of the Transformation; in fact, there are some Enlightened who argue that is what the Transformation would look like without a proper soul to anchor it, something thin, wispy, and flickery, prone to failure. Of course, there are also others who would rather like the ability of the Prometheans to use their own version of Charms without changing, that brief flicker as they Transform before changing back again, and they tend to ignore the warnings of Prometheans that theirs is not a nice state to be in. And then start stalking the poor Galetid, until he tells them how to do it. Mechanically, a Noble suffers from Disquiet as any other human being does. Their drives and passions are corrupted by the lurking alchemical fire; righteousness into pettiness, admiration into base lust, momentary distraction into dullness, inquisitiveness into the desire to enslave, and interest into random obsession. Worse, the state of mind imposed upon the Disquieted is often non-conducive to Invocations opposed to it; one inflamed by the passions of the Muses will find it hard to stay calm and analytical for Aqua, even as one made bitter by the Wretched will find that Tempesta comes easier to them. An appropriate bonus or penalty, up to the level of their Disquiet, may be imposed by the Storyteller if the Invocation they are trying to call upon opposes or supports their disquiet. Tainted areas and Wastelands interact in an interesting way. Quite apart from the fact that to the untrained eye a Taint and a Wasteland can be mistaken for each other, they actually serve to cancel each other out. Each level of the Wasteland reduces the Taint's Severity by five. The Divine Fire scorches the Darkness, just as it burns at the world, and drives it into remission (though it only suppresses it, to return as the Wasteland fades). There is no Ministry which specialises in the patchwork corpses that wander the Earth, soulless. Changelings One of the first things a newly Blossomed individual does is wonder how many of the other stories that exist in the Chronicles of Darkness are true. Perhaps fairies hide among the population, secretly granting wishes and watching over people, kind and loving just like how the stories say. It usually comes as quite a bit of a surprise to find that the Hidden Ones are a bunch of paranoid, suspicious, and often-mentally-unstable survivors of abuse by solipsistic abominations from Beyond the Fields we Know. Generally, the fae are much more Eyeless Man than Elrond. And, although the Queen of Spades may pride herself on her coalition of thieves and tricksters, sometimes it seems like every single Changeling is an exploitative rules-lawyer who, while willing to stick to the letter of an agreement, will completely ignore the spirit in which it was made. Worse; they can force people to live up to their side of a bargain, or suffer a terrible fate. This, of course, only applies to those among the Enlightened who have encountered Changelings; they are very hard to find, especially if you are directly looking for them. Most Princesses who do meet them do so by accident; perhaps their interests clash, as they both look into a string of disappearances in an area they protect. From what they, and the Embassy of Fate (although they have their own interests) have been able to find out, the fae-folk are considerably more organised that the Enlightened, living in 'freeholds' which appear to be some hybrid of a neofeudal court, where leadership changes according to season, and a support network. Worse, there are rumours that they have been compromised, depending on who you ask, by either the Darkness, or by the Queen of Tears; there are mentions of a Court of Fear, and Kings or Queens of Sorrows. While the Enlightened are devoted to the war between the Light and the Dark, between Hope and Fear, the Changelings seem not to care, and to just view any emotion as a kind of source of energy. As a result, Princesses tend to either want to help the 'poor abuse survivors', or hunting down the tricksters who bind innocent people into pacts they did not agree to, while Changelings tend to remain hidden from, and suspicious of the Enlightened, much as they do for any other denizen of the Chronicles of Darkness. Because there are worse things out there than Changelings. There are their former masters, and those among the Nobility who know of the True Fae and have encountered them hold them as terrible figures. They seize men, women and children alike, leaving near-perfect duplicates (yet often subtly wrong) in their places, and not once has a Princess managed to save a victim once the monsters have dragged them into their hellish labyrinth of thorns that they seem to dwell in (and a notable number of Nobles have vanished, as they pursued, never to be seen again). They are the Wild Hunt, the terrors that the monster under the bed is only a vague reminiscence of, and it is the duty of any Princess who knows about them to stand against them. If only there was a way of knowing when they attack; they rarely follow rhyme or rhythm, and most of the time the only way to know that someone was abducted is when the killer falls apart into rose petals, barbed wire, and cloth. And then, they sometimes show an interest in the Enlightened. Sometimes, they will play the villain, pit themselves against something that they know that a Princess protects, ruin something or someone she cares about, before retreating with a flick of a cape and a laugh. Some think they feed off the emotions produced, others that they somehow need the conflict, and others simply that the True Fae are sadistic bastards. It might even be a perverse mockery of magical girl shows; the fae are creatures of stories, after all. Whatever the truth is, the attention of the Fae is a terrible thing. But their narrative nature can sometimes be their weakness; a Princess who is willing to take the story, and play it through to the end, or else ruthlessly subvert it, can beat them at their own game. She can force the wicked witch into the oven, stand up to the bully, which shows her respect and leaves her alone, or make the monster put on the red-hot shoes and dance the night away. There are even tales of Princesses of Spades who have tricked the Fair Folk into oaths which prevent them ever returning to the world. They might be called the Old Gods by some, but they can still be blinded by the Light. Mechanically, powers which permit Aura Sight enable a reflexive roll of (Wits + Empathy - 3), automatically and reflexively contested by the Changeling's Resolve + Composure. Success permits the Princess to see through the Mask for the duration of the power. Moreover, if the Princess gets an Exceptional Success on any roll when Transformed, she sees through the Mask of any Changeling nearby for a fraction of a second; this is just a flicker, not enough to tell anything even as much as Kith, but it can be suspicious. When harvesting Glamour from a Princess, Changelings double their harvesting pool if the relevant emotion is hope, but success removes a single Wisp from the Princess. True Fae are at -2 to notice an Untransformed Princess but receive a corresponding +2 to notice a Transformed self; there is something odd about how the magic of the Transformation interacts with how they are tied into Fate. The Embassy of Stories deals with the Wyrd (and thus Changelings). Hunters In the shadows of a Darkness-filled world, men and women hold a Vigil, each holding a single lonely candle. And since recorded history began, uncounted teeming masses have done this. They have done it for any number of reasons, for a hundred hundred causes which have now mostly passed away forgotten. They did it before the Release, and they do it today. The valiant bravery of humanity in such adversity, without even the leadership of the Enlightened to guide them is a testament to the Light. And now that the Nobility have returned, the champions of the Light, it will be easy to stoke the candleflame of the Vigil into a roaring bonfire that will push the Darkness before them, driving them out! Uh, no. The reaction of Hunters to the Enlightened is almost as varied as the ragtag mortals carrying out the Vigil are. Much like Mages, Nobles appear to be human, and do not have any disturbing dietary requirements (such as blood, flesh, or souls) which makes a normal person understandably wary of them at first contact. But that doesn't mean that your average Hunter will welcome them with open arms as long-lost kin. Even ones who accept the tales of the Kingdom tend to not appreciate people trying to interfere, and the ones who do accept such stories are few indeed. "I remember things from my past life in a dream" tends to not be the most convincing argument when dealing with the Men In Black, or grizzled ex-cons with shotguns. When it comes down to it, the reactions depend entirely on the Hunters, and their personal experience with the Light and the Darkness. Anyone who has encountered an Alhambran Light-draining operation, and watched as people get sick and monsters come flocking, for example, won't be best inclined to anyone who resembles the bastard who was organising them. By contrast, Hunter cells, especially at Tier 1, who are saved from a horde of Dark-Spawn by a person in an admittedly-silly costume will be better inclined to them, even if they were throwing fire blasts when they did it. The presence of Compacts and Conspiracies only further complicates matters, especially with the tendency for the Enlightened to be grouped in with the Awakened as 'witches', and them to be treated as if they're the same class of being. To the outside observer, after all, the difference is not so great; they're apparently humans, who have unnatural powers, and can hide in a way that vampires, say, cannot. For a new Princess to be told by a man who smells of sulphur with hellfire in his eyes that she's sold her soul to the Devil is rather distressing, when she's already coping with massive changes to her self image and her life. Some of these Compacts and Conspiracies are less militant, of course, and groups such as the Union can be a solid ally for one of the Enlightened with the same goals as them. But, in almost all cases, there will be initial wariness and caution which can only be eroded by earned trust. One factor that, sadly, the Radiant have learned to take into account is that the Queen of Storms and her followers have a known tendency to work as enablers and aids for Hunter cells. The rage and desire for vengeance at all costs resonates too well with many Hunters, and the fact that the Stormites have had a very long time to get good at knowing how to help people take revenge, no matter the cost, means that Radiant (and Alhambran) Princesses often have to watch out for a "friend" who's providing the local Hunter cells with money and guns - and their names as witches. What makes the so-called Storm-tainted cells so dangerous is that they are genuinely being enabled, even as the vitriol of the Seraphic General gives them the means to more extreme ends. The Radiant may outnumber the Furies, but they don't outnumber all the assets that a well-connected follower of Storms - who may be mortal themselves - can call upon, and worse... what if they're right? Hunter groups are a blunt weapon, mostly ignorant of the Darkness and prone to solving their problems with violence, but if they're being advised and aided by a Storm cult, they're undeniably effective at cleansing an area of Dark-Spawn. That is the same effectiveness that the Radiant themselves want. And it's often all too easy to forget that the Hunters have their own opinions, and no desire to be used as pawns by "witches", even if the "witches" mean the best. Slashers Slashers frighten the Hopeful. They aren't monsters changed or transformed in any visible way, but they are still as dangerous as any inhuman beast thirsting for flesh. What's worse, many time a slasher has no connection to the Darkness or any other supernatural force, they just are. A princess who thinks she can help a slasher see the light is a princess with a one way ticket to the afterlife. Slashers, for their part, don't care anymore about the abilities of a Princess than they do about a vampire or werewolf or mortal. To them, the glowing hope a princess represents means little more than a much more shiny person to kill. Certain slashers, however, particularly a charmer or psycho, would want to know more about them, trying to make the abilities of a princess their own to better, if only to make their own killing abilities even greater, leaving the body of the princess wherever they choose. No Embassy wants any contact with Slashers, period. Demons Short answer: They don't get along. Long answer: Where one is a fairy-tale noble, the other is a spy straight out of a gritty novel. Where one has a supernatural identity to protect her mortal one, the other steals mortal faces and concepts to protect his supernatural nature from exposure. One has everyday magic, the other has arcane technology. One fights for truth and justice, the other is a liar and criminal by nature and necessity. One wants to change the world, the other wants to survive at all costs. There could not be better negative images in the world, even if a mirror universe was involved at some point. And both find the other completely baffling. To a Princess, one of the Unchained seems like a direct negation of everything the Inner Light stands for. They have no hope beyond a selfish desire for safety and power, no ability to trust, and constantly suspect even the closest to them of imminent betrayal, and thus are usually preparing their own knives as a precaution. Above all else, is their tendency to treat everything as a resource to cement their Covers-including things like love or dreams. To them, a spouse is just an element of a fake life to be bought for something that costs them nothing (and where does what they actually pay their end of the bargain with come from?), a soul is just a costume. More than that, there's also a widespread theory that, as their Cover decays due to discovery and power use, the elements they slough off don't evaporate, but are instead sent to the heart of all secrecy and paranoia, the Dark World, where the Darkness either consumes it or uses it to make powerful Darkspawn, so even the negative qualities they steal aren't an overall positive; it just becomes raw material for monsters. The lack of any definite proof of this does nothing to stop the rumor, and even if it is true-what then? The demons need those stolen faces to survive, and the Darkspawn don't hurt them, so why change their behavior? Truly, there is nothing there for a Princess to pursue, and given how good an Unchained is at hiding, there isn't even much to hunt down. Thus, those Nobles aware of demonic existence tend to ignore them until they prove a direct threat or lead, and then the Princess plays counter-intelligence agent to their deep cover saboteur. The fear and hate is not mutual. To a demon, a Princess is fascinating. Their complete control of their external emotions and alien origins tends to conceal the fact that, among supernaturals, the average Unchained is not actually that different from an average human. A paranoid, self-centered, and deceptive human, but a human nonetheless. With respect for human virtues like hope, even if they have little of their own. Yes, they are, by most standards, evil, but the evil of the Unchained is a very human, very understandable breed of evil; the kind that results when someone feels they are backed into a corner, with almost nothing left to lose, and everything to gain. The evil of those who are always afraid. And those who are afraid admire those who are not, as it is the goal of the fearful to stop being the fearful. Thus, a lot of the contact between Princesses and demons is usually initiated by the latter, as the Unchained try to figure out exactly what makes the Nobility tick. This is never the only reason, mind-the Unchained are too pragmatic (and sane) for that. But something that piques their interest in something relating to the Nobility often becomes interest in the Nobility themselves. Why varies from demon to demon, Agenda to Agenda; Inquisitors are more interested in raw knowledge of this odd little collection of superheroes and how they can influence the world around them, Integrators in the relationship between the Inner Light's harmony and the God-Machine's harmony, Saboteurs in their abilities as fighters and politicians, and Tempters in their society and how they influence dreams. Part of this is selfish; Lucifer was called the Morningstar for a reason, and while most demons don't believe in some arch-conspirator that was the first of them to fall, many want the Inner Light for themselves as part of their scheme to find or create their Hells (or to bring back to the God-Machine, in the Integrators' case). But part of it is genuine curiosity; when a demon sees a Princess, he sees a possible future for himself in his Hell. Not necessarily safe, but free, and open, and...trusting. Especially that last one. Needless to say, this can get really creepy on the Princess' end, especially on the (thankfully) rare occasions where the fascination and observation crosses the line into actual attraction and obsession. Indeed, it may go a long way towards explaining why the interplay between the Nobility and the Unchained is so chilly. And to be frank, it should be. Stalking is not a behavior one associates with the stable. In the Company of Ravens There is an exception to every rule though, and the Queen of Tears is the exception to the rule of alien distrust. She and her followers understand the sacrifices and lack of any peace of mind the Unchained suffer through, the darkness they must embrace in order to survive. Thus, the Handmaidens and demons, when they encounter each other (and the Handmaiden isn't scared off by the aforementioned stalker curiosity), they tend to get along like a house on fire. The Princess of Tears can't lie like a demon can, and a demon doesn't have the bias of "hope-stealing bad" that ruins their relationship with other Nobles, thus removing the barriers either has to actual trust-and they hold on to their trust for dear life. It isn't unheard of for a Raven and an Unchained to fall in love, and at least one Handmaiden has a half-demon daughter now (her father was forced to flee, but he keeps in touch and visits when he can). While most of the support demons can offer to Alhambrans is moral and emotional, the Last Empress has found a use for the Unchained-demons have perfect memories and extremely subtle powers, making them ideal outside contractors for espionage and record-keepers. She doesn't trust them (and nobody holds it against her), but compared to what else she does every day, occasionally asking a liar for help isn't so bad. Beasts Of all the creatures of night, Beasts hold the dubious distinction of being the one kind Princesses might like even less than Demons. Much like the Unchained, they are in many ways perceived by the Hopeful as their complete antithesis, albeit differently: whereas the Nobility are trying to bring light and hope back to the universe, Beasts spread fear and nightmares. Their havocs are likely to create new Tainted Areas and help the Darkness grow stronger, something no Princess in her right mind would tolerate. Unlike Heroes, most Nobles are at least willing to just ignore Beasts who put effort into minimizing the harm they cause, but as soon as innocents start getting hurt, they will hunt them down and put an end to the Begotten's rampage. Storm Princesses usually are even less forgiving, usually treating Beasts the same way they would treat any Darkspawn: with no mercy and a lot of Tempesta Charms. Beasts, on their side, are intrigued by Princesses. To them, the Hopeful are something a big enigma, at the same time very similar to them, and yet their complete opposite: like them, they definitely are supernatural creatures. And like them, they struggle with their dualistic nature as a human and as a being intrinsically linked to human emotions. However, unlike them, they embody Humanity's hope rather than fear. They also don't seem like something you could relate to Heroes, since with the exception of the Queen of Storm and Alhambrans, they tend to care less about slaying Beasts and more about improving the situation itself. This overall makes them hard to fit in the "narrative" the Begotten believe in. Overall, two theories have developed among the Begotten to explain what Nobles are. The first is that they actually are a long lost family representing myths about benevolent monsters, such as abgal, nymphs and the more benevolent depictions of angels; the Dark Mother's white sheep, so to speak. The second is that they started out as a regular kind of Beasts, but at some point found a way to reverse their Hunger, resulting in them discarding their need to feed on fear and replacing it with a need to bring hope. Obviously, Princesses aren't pleased by any of these two theories, but regardless of what the truth is, Beasts still perceive them as kin, if a distant one. Because of this, they usually treat them as friendly enemies, with more sympathy than Heroes; even if the Hopeful aren't teaching lessons to Humanity, they are still trying to help them in their own way, and that is something the Begotten can respect. Much like for Awakened, it's entirely possible for two friends or siblings to end up having respectively a Blossom and a Devouring. How this then turns out depends on the individuals; sometimes the link between the two is destroyed by this, and they become sworn enemies; others, the fact they both go through a big change can lead them to empathize and support each other, with the Princess trying to help the Beast feed in a way that would harm as little people as possible. This has actually led to some touching relationships, where Begotten were able to substain themselves without harming anyone, just by watching their Noble friends help others to recover Wisps thanks to Family Dinner. While effective, this method is frown upon by some Beasts, who feel it make the Children forget about their responsibility to teach lessons to mortals. Princesses cause a different reaction on Kinship, depending on the form they are in. In Mundane state, they register as regular mortals, and as such can evade detection through Family Resemblance. When Transformed, on the other hand, they qualify as Fundamentally Human, meaning the Beast will have to make a Family Resemblance roll to identify one, and subtract her Belief in addition to her Composure from the roll if the Princess didn't use any supernatural ability in the scene. For the same reason, Thicker Than Water only grants Beasts an Average First Impression with Princesses. Other Kinship abilities work as normal: a Beast can increase a Princess' powers with Mother's Kiss, register as one using Passing Resemblance and gain Satiety through Family Dinner with them, by watching them, for example, slay Darkspawns, recover Wisps or, in the case of Princesses of Tears, draining Light from the world. They could theorically create Kinship Nightmares based on Princesses, though finding what makes a Noble scary might require some imagination, Twilight Princesses aside. Beacons register as regular mortals for the purpose of Kinship, while Goalenu are kin on the same level than Princesses. Darkspawns qualify as Descended From the Dark Mother, and as such do trigger Kinship on the same level that vampires or werewolves. However, Beast get the same protection than natives of the physical world, so they cannot survive in the Dark World. Heroes Heroes and Nobles rarely make good team-mates. Of course, it’s not unusual for both of them to end up working together to take down a ravaging Beast: the former is willing to ally with any supernatural ally as long as it helps to their goal, after all, and a Princess will be more than happy to help in taking down a nightmare-inducing monster whose influence is likely to help the Darkness faster. However, such alliances can only last until the Princess becomes aware of the blatant divergence in their goal. At the end of a day, a Hero only cares about slaying the Beast, while a Princess must, according to her oath, always make saving people her priority. This almost always leads to situations where they end up arguing over the topic, usually concluded by the Princess declaring the Hero doesn’t deserve his title and leaving to take care of the Beast’s innocent victims. And that’s when they don’t split apart sooner because of the Hero’s obnoxious attitude. Things are different, however, whenever Nobles meet one of these rare "Good", well-adjusted Heroes who genuinely care about protecting people. Lacking what make their other peers unbearable, these Heroes usually are not only much easier to work with, but can even become genuine friends, and provide valuable support against a rampaging Beast. The Begotten consider such alliances with both dread and interest; on one hand, there is nothing scarier to them than a Hero assisted by both devoted friends and seemingly normal girls who can at any moment turn into a magic-wielding powerhouses. On the other hand, Princesses have a strongest sense of empathy, and can actually turn out to be a positive influence on such Heroes, convincing them some Beasts aren't a danger and should be spared. Twilight Queens in the Chronicles of Darkness Of the Twilight Queens, by and large Tears will be the only one with a unified response. Alhambra has set policies in place for dealing with Vampires, for the Kindred... well, they're sort of predictable in their parasitic way. On the other hand, loyal citizens in the know hold them in contempt, because they're blood-drinking parasites that dwell in the Rebellious Provinces who have no higher cause or goal; they only exist to extend their own lives. This is, naturally, completely unlike the glorious maintenance of Alhambra, and comparison of their actions are traitorous words. When the Rebellious Provinces are reconquered, they will, of course, be exterminated on the orders of the Last Empress, but for now, no action is to be taken against them unless it seems that they threaten the city. And there are always field commanders who can make deals with them, or have to, because richer, elder vampires are often landowners, and they can get involved if they find that their tenants are creating strange warped areas. They might not mind, of course, as long as the rent is paid on time. By contrast, compared to the wary detente that sometimes exists between Alhambra and the Kindred, Werewolves are to be actively avoided, because they are savage monsters, and, worse, they have disturbing tracking abilities, and an unerring ability to find new Taints through some unknown method. Some Tears people believe that they might be savage monsters let loose into the world by Storms, because of the fury, and well, they're almost always antagonistic if they find an active Enclave. And the few that don't attack on sight are frequently Bale Hounds, who, from the Alhambran point of view - when and if they find out the truth - are monsters who work with the Darkness, and might as well be Mnemosynes for the way they actively embrace malevolent powers. Of course, that's not something that Bale Hounds boast about, so the followers of Tears just mistrust all Werewolves, even the ones who try to be friendly, because of bad past experiences. Mages are things that Alhambrans are ordered to avoid at all costs, whether Pentacle, Independent, Seer or Banisher - not that the internal divides of the Awakened are easy for outsiders to discern. The Queen of Tears knows of the Dragon, and she will not draw its attention if she can possibly avoid it. Field groups sometimes come to unofficial arrangements, but the lack of Princesses until recently (which means that, at best, they have Sworn who are no match for Awakened) meant keeping away is a good idea. But defence through obscurity has a nasty habit of failing when thrown against the superlative investigative powers of the Awakened, and in such cases, it is often too late. The standing orders are that, in case of noticeable Mage action against an Alhmabran Enclave, the first priority is to save the precious stolen Light and any Enlightened stationed there, followed by an organised retreat back to the city, . Non-Enlightened individuals involved in such a fiasco are seldom stationed out in the Rebellious Provinces again, for it is known that the scrying powers of the Awakened are mighty, and so they may follow any such individual to the next Enclave they are stationed at. In practice, however, that rule is increasingly flaunted, because individuals used to life in the Provinces are valuable assets, and paranoia remains "merely" paranoia right until it's proved that they really were out to get you. Compared to all of these, the other supernatural groups are far less common. Changelings are, of course, largely hidden, and there's really no way for an Alhambran group to know that the person they tried to drain the willpower from was a Darkling, right until they react badly and start calling upon terrifying liquid darkness to choke their attacker. Those kind of incidents means that there are consistent records in Alhambran archives about a special "trickster" kind of Mnemosyne. Prometheans, are, of course, the source of panics and terror when they're detected, because they're far, far too much like Goalenu for the comfort of any Alhambran, but newer generations of Tears' Enlightened have shown curiosity about these proto-souled things. The strangeness that follows them isn't quite a Taint, and their search for a soul is... fascinating, in its own way. More than a few Handmaidens of Tears have treated a Promethean as a 'good deed' to be helped, and that usually lasts right until Disquiet ruins everything. The Sin-Eaters, by contrast, have almost a wary acceptance as a phenomenon. The followers of Tears understand ghosts far better than most humans, and live around them, and there's even a borderline heretical theory that the lost souls of dead Alhambran Princesses fuse with humans to produce the guardians of the Dead (just as Princesses are the guardians of Alhambra), who help treat with the broken ghosts of the Rebellious Provinces (who are clearly not as good as Alhambran ghosts). You still have to judge on case by case basis, but they're not monsters or terrors, they're just people who deal with ghosts. The followers of the Queen of Storms are not sophisticated people when dealing with a lot of supernatural threats. They tend to respond with fire, if they think they're connected to the Darkness or Alhambra, but otherwise tend to ignore them, as per Burn the World to Save the World (unless it's personal for that cell, in which case all bets are off). Hence, Vampires, who are blood-sucking, life-stealing monsters who burn well, are usually targeted, and generally believed to be linked to the Darkness or Alhambra in some way. There is, in fact, a common hypothesis that the Kindred are the children of the Queen of Tears, born of her cowardly dead womb, who are merely more literal about how they steal the life of the world. Werewolves, on the other hand, tend to be the ones who start the aggression, because the random murders and arsons that the followers of Storms cause don't help the local spirit ecology, and Goalenu are an abomination to them. The martyrs of Storms are spirit-flesh-clay unnatural spirits who interfere in the flesh world all the time, and therefore not the friends of the Uratha. The Seraphic Legion has been known to go after mages and sorcerers who they think are dealing with the Darkness (use of ghosts or darkness in their magic is often a trigger), but on the other hand, there have been rather more team-ups between compatible Banisher cells and Storms cults than either of their enemies would like, because they are both, in their broken ways, trying to "fix" the world. Changelings are rather too hidden for your average follower of Storms, although they have been known to get involved in fighting True Fae cults and their kidnappings, while Prometheans are odd. More than one Storm-wracked individual has tried to build their own one of these half-Goalenu, half-Princess things, and some newborn Prometheans have been lured into joining a Storms cult - which can be excellent insights into Stannum and Ferrum - but inevitably Disquiet ruins things, and they move on. Finally, even as Tears has acceptance of Sin-Eaters, Storms has innate wariness. Their powers are scary and uncontrollable, and, worse, their ghosts are quite unlike the promise of Tattered Ghost ascension given by those who die in the service of Storms. Sometimes they clash, but more often, they keep out of their way. The followers of the Queen of Mirrors are far, far too diverse to summarise things like this. They don't have the order to get group decisions, so they'll often, if they aren't working in Radiant or Twilight society - where they'll tend to have a similar opinion to their compatriots, just run off mortal-level occult knowledge, because that's all they have. And that often runs into the same problem that mortals do; well, how do you tell what's true about Vampires and what's not? What's the difference between a mage, a vampire, and a werewolf if they turn into a wolf in front of you? Are there really fairies, and should I trust this beautiful woman who's promising to take me away from this horrible world and make me her heir? Independent followers of Mirrors make all the mistakes of independent Princesses, and the Queen of Mirrors is unhelpful, for she tends to only tell individuals what they already know or suspect. The True Heir must be strong-willed and beholden to no-one, she says.